


RWBYZ

by Breeden_TV



Category: RWBY
Genre: OC insert, RWBY - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:08:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22558390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Breeden_TV/pseuds/Breeden_TV
Summary: A bounty hunter of Remnant is hired to bring in team RWBY. What should have been a simple job to get into a very early retirement turns into a long unwanted adventure that will challenge everything he knows and lives by.
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

My name is Dalton and I’m hunting down Team RWBY as a detective and bounty hunter. I was hired through a faunus named Tyrian. I’ve heard of him before. An assassin for hire that killed with no mercy and had no moral code. That in itself made him good but the fact that he was an agile faunus elevated him past others. I thought about killing him when he approached me. He was smart though, asking me at one of my regularly visited informant bars and I had no doubt in my mind that a few others in the crowd were with him to make sure everything went “smoothly”. I knew I could have escaped if need be. Tyrian was fast, but he didn’t have the reaction time and deceptive mind that I had. Instead of running, I listened to his offer.  
“I want you to hunt down team RWBY and either kill them or bring them in alive. My boss needs this done rather expediently.” he tells me this with a crazy flash in his eyes.  
“I don’t take jobs from others when the real client isn’t asking me.” It’s never a good idea to take these types of jobs.  
“Maybe this will change your mind, Zero.” I hate being called that name. Tyrian showed me some footage and clued me in on the fact that team RWBY was at fault for the attack on Beacon. That’s what sold me to take the job. I still had my own questions of course but I get paid to answer questions, not ask them.

I started my hunt in Beacon. Where the team was formed. As infamous as I was, I was really only known through bandits, gangs, and huntsmen by my persona and a bounty hunter name; Zero. Some say it’s because I’ve never missed a shot, never let a target go, never had a failed hunt, or had no friends/family. All of these are correct, yet fallible at the same time. I’ve never missed a shot is true, if you believe I purposefully “miss” some of my shots. I’ve never let a target go is true if you believe I only go after the deserving. A failed hunt can only be seen that way if I disappoint, yet most of the time employers are too afraid of me to be disappointed. I’ve never had friends or family? Well that’s pretty much true. I have contacts and informants, but not “friends”. I don’t have the time for that and it can lead to me being hunted down easier.

The first person I go to question in my civilian form is Taiyang Xiao Long, the father of Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose. Knowing a little bit of their habits and behaviours can help me find them. I tracked down a man off of the fact that he smoked Gold Lien cigarettes and drank a brand of energy drink with lethal amounts of caffeine in it. That maybe an overstatement on my part about the caffeine but being in my line of work you have to be in shape and as healthy as possible. I enjoy a lot of soups honestly. It’s the only thing that's filling, quick, and still healthy enough. *knock knock knock* 

“Hello?” A tall brutish man with a massive smile and golden yellow hair answered the door. He was at least 6”3 and by my guess 220lbs of straight muscle. Pushing his forties yet still in peak condition.

“You must be Taiyang?” I ask the man.  
“That would be me, the handsome devil that I am in the flesh.” he says with a dubious tone and upturned smirk. He is confident and a people person. Flattery, a way to get some info I’ll need from him. Being a people person helps in my line of work.  
“May I come in Mr. Taiyang?”  
“Call me Tai and of course, would you like some tea? I have a pot boiling on the stove right now.” I have to fight the urge to immediately turn down the tea. It’s instinct to not trust things.  
“I’d love that Tai I’m actually parched and I believe that I might be taking up an hour or two of your time.” It’s a quaint home. Tai doesn’t seem very materialistic but does seem like a family man. Pictures of his daughters and a lady with red hair in similar physique of Ruby yet older.  
“Oh well that’ll be fine, I don’t get many visitors anymore since my daughters left.” he laughs nervously but smiles sweetly. If only he knew what they did.  
“That’s actually the topic I’m here to ask you about.” Tai immediately tenses up.  
“What do you want with my girls?” Tai asked me. He’s gripping the kettle tighter and his eyes show worry mixed with fatherly rage.  
“I’m tracking them down because I believe I have information that will help them. I also know for a fact that they have some unwanted company trying their best to hurt team RWBY.” As the words leave my mouth I see Tai begin to relax. An intrigued look takes form on his face as he pours two cups of tea.  
“Would you like any sugar mr.?” He’s clearly asking me for a name.  
“Sean and no thank you, I prefer my tea with next to nothing in it.” I say smiling.  
“Well…. Sean, what do you need to talk about with me?” Tai leans back in a recliner. He points at the sofa. I take a seat in the middle. Showing that I’m comfortable and need no support for my arms. It gives off confidence subconsciously. I doubt Tai takes conscious notice but I know he’s not dumb. He won’t tell me anything he feels will hurt his girls.  
“Do you have any idea where they might be heading?” I ask looking into his eyes.  
“Not the slightest clue, Ruby my youngest rose just took off one day after the fall. Yang my eldest sunflower she went to find her. Knowing those two they’ve probably found each other.” He says all of this clearly reminiscing about the good times with his daughters. He’s lying though. I can see it in his mannerisms. Tai is holding his cup of tea over his crotch. He clearly doesn’t feel comfortable anymore.  
“Okay, what’s your daughter's favorite things to eat?” This catches him off guard.  
“Excuse me but how does this help you at all?”  
“I’m going to be bringing them so food if I ever find them.” I chuckle afterwards which he follows suit. I’m starting to make him comfortable again. “Realistically Tai it doesn’t seem like it could help me but maybe I’ll run into them at a certain shop. Anything you can give me will help.” I tell him this with a tone of seriousness and concern in my voice. The undertone makes it seem like I’m going to be protecting them.

After a few moments of silence Tai finally speaks “Well Ruby has always been particular for chocolate chip cookies. Yang used to frequent bars but I think she got over that phase in her life. I know her team loves ramen.” I can tell he’s giving me the truth on this.  
“What kind of weapons do your daughters use? I know they’re huntresses.”  
“Well Ruby has a high powered .308 rifle that can transition into a scythe and still be fired. That rose petal is a crack shot with her Scyther-rifle!”  
“That’s the first I’ve ever heard of someone referring to a “Scyther-rifle”. It must be a hard fighting style to master.” Mixing the frantic and slashing style of a scythe with the accuracy and power of a rifle seems ridiculous yet it oddly makes sense for her name. A rose is beautiful yet dangerous. Sniping is seen as beautiful whilst the scythe wielders through history have been seen as dangerous. Whether the danger comes from the mastery of the style or how one mishap can kill you is up to the person I suppose.  
“Yeah Rubes still messes up sometimes. I tried hard to teach her some martial arts yet she never paid attention.” Disappointment in Tai’s voice seeps through but it’s not out of anger. It’s cause he’s worried about her. I keep in mind that disarming her would be my easiest way for taking her alive.  
“Yang has these shotgun gauntlets that are ridiculously powerful mixed with her semblance. She loads those bad boys with dragons breath rounds and the longer you drag out the fight with her the stronger she gets.” Tai says this with respect and this kind of childish pride. It’s touching but it lets me know I need to take her out quickly.  
I spent the next two hours talking with Tai about them and what they were like. Perfect children but almost all parents look back with rose tinted glasses. “Tai if you don’t mind me asking, how does your daughters mother feel about all of this?” He’s barely brought up the woman in all of the family pictures.  
A look passed over his face and I can tell what he’s going to say before he says it.  
“Summer would be proud of them. She was the strongest out of all of us but I think she’d be amazed how much her kids grew. Even if yang isn’t technically her daughter.” I appreciate how open he is about all of this. I can tell he cares about all of them a lot.  
“Well Tai I’m going to head home, thank you for all your time.” I stand up and give him a handshake. Surprisingly he’s very gentle compared to what he looks like. I head for the door to leave and move onto my next lead. I need to find a last known location for them.  
“Hey Sean!” Tai yells out after me.  
I almost kept walking forgetting my alias for Tai. I can make rookie mistakes, everyone does after time but I catch myself and turn around. “Last I heard my daughters were heading to Haven. Make sure they make it there.” I smile back and nod with a thumbs up. Some people are just too kind.


	2. Chapter 2

My ride to Haven was brief. Only taking me a few days to drive there on my motorcycle. I was only attacked by two packs of grimm in my travels. Nasty little buggers that hunt you down off of negative emotions. Other bounty-hunters will simply cut off all emotions to themselves. I believe that just makes you a cold blooded killer. You cut off your morals like the bandits. I was attacked by four groups of them. All in all there was at least sixty of them through my travels. The first two attacks I just knocked them out and made a fire near where I dropped them off so the grimm wouldn’t kill them. The third and fourth groups played on my emotions and used kids as bait. One of the kids got badly injured in my fourth “stop”. Unlike my third stop where I only killed the bandits that stole and put the kids in as bait, I killed everyone in that bandit ambush. My semblance lets me manipulate aura in many different ways. It surprises me to this day. Sometimes it just acts on its own accord. I checked my scroll after getting the kids to a safe place and cheering them up. I gave them candy and a few glow sticks. If they were to stay in their bad moods they would attract grimm that would kill them. I let authorities and a few hunters know that there were a few missing kids in a cave off one of the small villages an hour from Haven.

When I finally made it into Haven, I was exhausted. I bought a room for a week as I expected I’d be here for some time. I’m technically not of legal drinking age, but I don’t even know when I was born. I never get carded at bars. I walk in and notice that the bar isn’t too crowded. A man wearing a grey and white dress shirt, with a red and black cape, with black hair, and red eyes is seated on the second floor balcony drinking by himself. I can tell he’s a hunter and even with the empty drinks around him I can tell he’s dangerous. I feel like I know him yet at the same time I know I’ve never fought him. I take a seat at the bar and the lady behind it walks over to where I’m sitting. “Hey sweetie you look tired what can I get for ya?” 

“Baby Guinness or Beowhiskey, surprise me.” I say this with a half smile and wink. Baby Guiness shots will make me relax faster but the Beowhiskey is always a top notch choice in my books.   
“I’ll get ya a few shots of Guinness asap, do you want extra cream?”  
“Will it cost me extra?” I ask her.  
“For a cutie like you? It’s free of charge. I’ll even add an extra shot on for ya.” she ends that with a wink.  
“I appreciate that.” I warmly thank her. I need the hospitality at times. It makes me feel human. I hear light drunken footsteps behind me. It’s a practiced person that even hammered could get the drop on the most seasoned hunters. My aura heightens my senses even higher than a faunus’ senses. I stop myself from summoning my weapons out of instinct. The footsteps aren’t hostile. I can tell this from my aura “tick”.  
“Guess it pays to be handsome huh? Mind if I sit with you?” the stranger from upstairs on the balcony asks me.  
“Go ahead. I’m just spending my time here till I decide I actually need sleep.” I tell the man. Something ticks in me. The chair the man is about to sit in is gonna break. “Hey don’t sit there man the chair will break.”  
“What am I really that fat?” he laughs and pokes fun at me. I picked up my leg and put it on the chair and sure enough the back of the leg broke. “Well damn you saved me from my bad luck!” the man seems both enthused and curious.  
“Here I’ll stand take my seat.” I offer the man out of respect.   
“It’s alright sit down I’ll bring another chair over.” he has an oddly bird like way of walking. As weird or insensitive as that sounds. He just has a strut or confidence to him that reminds me of a very intelligent or manipulative bird.   
“Baby Guinness with extra cream for the handsome one and Qrow do you want another ale?” the bartender asks the rugged man. I feel like I’ve heard that name before but I shrug it off. I’ve heard plenty of names in my time.  
“No I’m set for the night. I’ll pay my tab though.” Qrow saying this reminds me that I need to pay.  
“What do I owe you miss?” I pull out 200 lien ready to offer up. Alcohol can be expensive in inner cities around academies but I spot a remnant bank atm. I hope it’s connected still.  
“It’s only 50 lien sweetie.” she tells me smiling. I put 50 of it on the register and hand the other 150 to her as a tip.   
“Thank you for your hospitable service. I had a hard ride up here.” after saying this it perks the other man, Qrow up.   
“So where are you from? Vacuo? Patch?”   
“I rode up here from Beacon actually. Looking for a safer place after the attacks and I needed some work.” I made my way over to the atm whilst the man follows and speaks with me.  
“You just tipped mighty fine I’m surprised you need work.” he laughs but only for a moment. I enter my credentials and block his view on my information. What I can’t block is the pop up picture along with my account that shows my legal license as a bounty hunter and detective. “Didn’t know I was in the presence of a great hunter.” he’s clearly trying to get me riled up. Yet I only feel embarrassed more than angry.  
“Used to be. I have one more job then I’m retiring.” I hope the quick and sharpendedness of this will keep him from questioning me anymore. Of course, though it’s not a hint he takes.  
“And what’s this job? You killing someone? Bringing them in?” he’s probing me for info. My aura ticks and I can tell he’s trying to learn about me. He sees me as dangerous and I take this as my time to head out. Confrontation is never needed when I’m hunting a person down.   
“You know I think I’m going to turn in. You can have the rest of my shots.” with that I stand up and start to leave. I feel another tick. The man is going to drop the shots on the ground and shatter it. I don’t warn him this time.   
“Well I’ll talk to you later mys-*smash* gods dammit can my luck calm down for a second.” whilst the man is distracted I slip away.

I enter my room and lock the door behind me. I draw up my sidearm and clear my room. Checking the closets, bathroom, and even under the bed. After making sure I’m safe and no one is in my house I cook a simple tomato stew with a toasted cheese sandwich. The soup is made from a can unfortunately. I prefer things fresh but I can’t complain. Whilst I was out I managed to pick up fresh cheddar cheese and butter. At least I was eating semi-healthy. The meal reminds me of when I was younger. After finishing my survivalist training I had soup and grilled cheese after eating nothing but berries, insects, and rats for three weeks. I was in absolute heaven. I think about how much I take for granted sometimes. How complacent I can become. It will catch up to me one day. With that final thought I let sleep embrace me.


	3. Chapter 3

The morning light shines through the opaque curtains. I curse myself for renting a room facing the sun. When I finally lose the morning grogginess I look through my scroll whilst cooking chip beef gravy. That man named Qrow is familiar. I had to have a job offer to kill him or hunt him down. My suspicions are true. A ‘Raven’ had hired me at one point to bring him in alive. I denied the job when I found out she was a bandit. Of course she sent a “team” to attack me. I sent Raven the head of the team leader back as a warning. I had doubts about sending a head back at first. Then I realized it would scare her. I haven’t had problems from her bandit tribe since. I get changed into a fresh pair of clothes and use a snake cam to check under my door. Looking outside I can see no one is waiting to attack me. People are walking around the streets too. It’s not busy but busy enough for me. I pull the cam back into my pocket and step outside.

It’s not warm or cold outside. This weather is my favorite. Cool enough to wear a light hoodie with next to no wind. As I’m walking through the town I hear a cheery high pitched girl speaking a little to loud for her own good. “I can’t believe we’re going shopping! I feel like we’ve only ever been walking forever.” as I turn the corner to inspect who’s saying this I make first contact with my target, Literally. 

I smack into Ruby Rose and we both tumble towards the ground. Out of instinct I catch myself on the wall and grab her arm to stop her from falling. I pulled her up and I was going to apologize but I’m taken aback. She has silver eyes? Both of them at that. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t paying attention and I ran into you but you caught me and honestly that fall could have hurt…. And you’re not paying attention?” the girl slamfires me with the sentence speaking faster than an alpha Beowolf can run.   
“I’m sorry I think I just hit my head on the wall. You seem familiar?” whilst yes I have seen her before she reminds me of someone. I can’t put my finger on it until I see Qrow walk closer.   
“Ruby you okay? Sorry about that kid my niece doesn't always pay atten- wait you’re that bounty hunter from the bar last night, aren't you?” Qrow remembers me even if he was wasted. It gives me the info that I may have to deal with him to get to team RWBY.   
“Yeah I never gave you my name.” I hesitate for a second and decide to be honest about my actual name. He’s skilled and not drunk so he might be able to see through me. “It’s Dalton. Nice seeing you again but I kinda have a place to get to.” I try to make my way from them and the one with white hair that dresses elegantly, Weiss Schnee is her name. She stops me to question me.   
“Where are you headed to in such a hurry?” her eyes are piercing. She’s attempting to seem snide and powerful. I can tell she’s hurting on the inside though. Something was seriously bothering her and for a second I feel empathetic. I remember quickly though that these are my targets. They’re at fault for the beacon attacks. I shouldn’t feel bad for any of them.   
“Just heading to the local market. I need to get some food.” I give Weiss that and start to walk away. I hear the blonde girl, Yang Xiao Long yell at me whilst I’m walking away.   
“Well we’re going shopping so maybe we’ll catch you there cutie!” Yang is definitely like her father. I can’t tell exactly what she said but Blake, the faunus of team RWBY said something to Yang about ‘pulling back on cat calls’. 

After picking up fresh ingredients for dinner later tonight I decide to spend time in town. I looked across the street from the market and saw a cafe. Oakly’s Drinks is inscribed in a plank stretching across the front of the building. I decided to spend some time relaxing there. It was a quaint cafe with little privacy between the customers and the outside. A perfect out in the open, hiding spot for me to hit my three R’s. Recon, Relax, and Rethink. You have to challenge yourself more than physically in this job. I order an orange jasmine tea and ask for it to be brought to me. I take a seat near the front door and watch through the window.  
“Here’s your tea sir.” the barista brought me a wooden mug with my tea in it.   
“Thank you!” every store has to have a damn quirk to it now a days. I hand the man a twenty bill of lien and proceed to get my pen and pad out. I spend two hours writing and editing a poem. It’ll only ever be seen by me but, I enjoy the retrospect it gives me.   
[A life or risk and danger, brings so much unbridled anger.  
When all of this ends and I am no longer hired, I’ll be left with no friends and tired.  
What’s the point of grinding stack after stack, when later on you will always have to watch your back.  
I only take and barely give, is this the life I want to live?]  
After some time writing and thinking my aura ticks. Someone is behind me and is watching me. I turn around calmly and see Blake Belladonna from team RWBY staring back at me blushing. When the hell did she come in here.   
“I’m sorry I should have asked if I could read. I noticed you in here from earlier and I told the team I’d ask you if you wanted to hang out. Ruby thinks you’re really coo-” I cut blake off as I can tell she’s flustered.   
“It’s okay. Normally I know when someone is looking at me but I guess I was too deep in thought. As far as hanging out with your team I have work tomorrow so I need to head home and eat dinner.” I’m honestly embarrassed. I’ve never let anyone read my poems. On accident or otherwise. Something’s up with me if my aura didn’t catch onto that. I’ll need to triple check the room I’m staying in. As I get up to walk out the door I hear Blake start to speak.  
“Hey I liked your poem. If you ever need help or someone to talk to we’re stayed up by the hotel across from the academy.” I know Blake is being sincere about what she’s saying. My response is just a simple smile and wave as I walk ‘home’.

After clearing the room I start on dinner. I’ve fallen back on the amount of fat I’m taking in so I’ve made a cream of butter soup with seasoned broccoli and chicken. For anyone else this would seem unhealthy but the meal is deceiving you. If you make it a certain way and boil it with my recipe, It becomes a healthy filling meal. As I start eating my stew I think back to what Blake said about if I needed someone to talk to. She was sincere and caring. Maybe I don’t know the full story to team RWBY. I am contracted to bring them in though. They could have changed but I’m… conflicted. After some mulling I decide I’m going to carry out the contract. You can be a good person and do horrible things. Like yourself.   
No. I’ve never been good. I kill people for a living.  
You are too hard on yourself. You are kinder than you think.  
Just shut up and let me have a night to myself. Everynight they tell me at least one thing. Not to be so hard on myself usually. I hate how I have no control over this voice either. Everyone else seems to be able to control their semblance like they’re shooting a toy gun. The fact is my semblance has a mind of its own and quite frankly, it’s a righteous pain in the ass sometimes. Don’t get me wrong it has saved my ass more than once, but it’s gotten me screwed over on false alarms. I was tracking a man down through the swamp and was about to catch him. I needed to bring him in alive but he didn’t know that.  
“Leave me alone! I paid my dues!” he hid behind a log and didn’t realize how close I was to him. I could hear him freaking out. “They sent Zero after me. Fucking Zero? I’m gonna die!” I threw a rock into the marsh behind a bush in the opposite direction. Whilst he pointed his gun in the wrong direction I snuck up right behind him and put my H&K pistol to the back of his head.   
“Give up kid and I won-” my aura told me I need to duck and roll backwards and so I did. After two seconds of nothing I realized my aura messed up. The guy was turning around and was about to shoot me. Then what my aura was trying to warn me about appeared. A crocodile grimm chomped onto the man's torso and brought him down under the water. All that was left was some bloodied cloth and his weapon. I still feel guilty thinking about it to this day. He didn’t have to die. 

I’m taken back to my surroundings when I hear the kettle start whistling in the background. Orange Jasmine tea is one of my favorites. I pour the brew into my thermus. The aroma always takes me back to my childhood. I sat in my bed looking through my scroll. Rereading info and past jobs till my eyes felt heavy. Right before I fell asleep though I could have sworn I heard a voice say ‘Things are not as it seems’, but my aura didn’t spike and so I let the comfort take me into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Again the light pierces through my windows and hits my face directly. I seriously wish I would have gotten a better room. I check my scroll for the time. It’s two in the morning?! What the hells with the bright light? My aura spikes as well and I conjure my battlesuit onto me through my aura quickly. The light fades away but my aura is still going haywire. I take a snake cam off of my tool belt and connect it to my scroll. When I push the camera under the door I see why my aura is losing its mind and making my own a big mess. She notices the snake cam. She hasn’t changed much since the last time I saw her. Same Neopolitan hair style, eye color, and clothing style. The only differences are that she has a cane, bowler hat, and her eye shadow is a mix of green and red. Neo leans down to the camera and signs to me. “Most people would use the peephole to check who’s at their front door.” I stood up and hesitated before I opened the door to Neo and spoke.  
“Most people aren’t as paranoid as I am. What do you want Neo?” her only response was to smile at me as she pushed herself into my room.

After an hour of her telling me what happened to her and drinking my tea I finally speak up. “I’m sorry about Roman, I know he was close to you Neo.” I signed rest in peace whilst talking to Neo. “I understand that you’re angry with team RWBY but I don’t exactly like working with others.” Neo pouted then grinned wide.  
“I’ll be as quiet as a mouse. You’ll never know I’m here.” I watched her fingers and laughed. That humour was one of the reasons I loved her. At least at one point I did.   
“Neo I really don’t like to work with people, not only that but you feel very strongly about this group. You won’t take things professionally. The fact that someone told you about this contract makes it more dangerous too.” After I say this she seems taken aback. “Your voice may be mute but the other expressions are not. You may be hard to read to others but you’ll always be an open book to me.”   
“I’ve changed you know.” Neo’s hands show complete confidence in her signing but her face is meek and she seems… defeated. She’s alone in this world. You know how that feels.   
“Stop trying to guilt me!” I’m yelling this at the voice but I don’t realize I’m saying it out loud.  
“What are you talking about?” Neo signed at me with a puzzled expression.   
“Not you, I’m talking to my voice.” I realize how crazy that sounds as I say it.  
“D have you been sleeping enough?” She either asks me this cause she cares or thinks I’m crazy.   
“You just woke me up not too long ago Neo. From a pretty good dream honestly.” the annoyance in my voice seeps through a little too much.  
“I don’t know when you go to bed and besides I heard you were here. Unlike you I check up on colleagues even if I want something from them too.” She's angry with me which isn’t anything new in all honesty.   
“Listen I’ll think about it. Absolutely no guarantees but I will think about allowing you on my job. Now I want to go to bed so please, go to your room and let me sleep.” I yawn afterwards.  
“Well I need to ask for another fav-”  
“Take my bed I’ll get my bedroll from my bag and sleep on the ground.” of course she needs a place to stay.  
“You know we could always share a bed like old times.” I scoff after seeing her sign.   
“Goodnight Neo.” she’ll sleep fine, I won’t.

The sunlight attacking my eyes takes me from my sleep and I look over to my bed where Neo is sleeping. She has a sleep mask on which explains why the change in lighting didn’t wake her. I started making breakfast for me and her. I could apologize for some of the things I said. The eggs I was going to use for ramen will have to be for our breakfast. It’s been a long time since I’ve cooked for someone other than myself. The smell of breakfast eventually gets her out of bed and I hear her stomach growl over the sizzling.  
“Breakfast is almost done. Hope you like eggs, toast, and Numi tea.” I watch her walk into the bathroom and shut the door. As I finish up breakfast I watch an entirely different looking Neo walk out. Her semblance of course lets her change how she looks but her aura is still the same. “Having fun playing dress up?” I poke fun at her “change”.   
“The team knows what I look like and I can’t have my partner get caught with someone they know are against them.” she signs this to me and I sigh.  
“I am not letting you work with me on this.” I see her start to sulk and pout. “But if you need a place to stay you can sleep here.” As she perks up and smiles at me signing thank you I throw her an extra pair of keys. “Knock fives time, wait a second, and then knock two more times before ever coming in.”  
“Paranoid?” of course she thinks I’m paranoid. She could lose the keys and I don’t want to have some random person walk in on me. Regardless of what I’m doing. I set the small table in the corner with breakfast and pour her tea.   
“How many sugars?” she stuck five fingers up in response. “Of course you’d still have a sweet tooth.” she playfully sticks her tongue out at me as I stirred her drink. After a sip of my tea I start eating my breakfast and she follows suit. After a few bites of her eggs and noticing the jam on her toast she stops and signs to me.   
“Aw you remembered that I don’t like my eggs super salty and with salsa. You even gave me grape jelly.” When we were closer years back I cooked constantly and of course I remember how she prefers everything. It’s normal when you have a near perfect memory. Or maybe you’re kind. I shake the voice out of my head.   
“I care about her, which means I’m kind but not romantically, that time has passed.” she has a puzzled look on her face after hearing this. “Talking to the voice again.”  
Neo takes a second to think and then starts signing to me. “I know that I hurt you, and at a time where you were already low and hurting.” Her eyes start to tear up but she continues moving her hands. “I’m so sorry and I should have been a better partner. I still care about you-” I stop her from signing my name. Neo isn’t normally this emotional.   
“Neo I care about you too but I’ve said it before okay. We’re friends and nothing more. That’s how I want the people in my life.” I expect her to start crying harder but she sniffles and smiles. “Why are you smiling?” I’m confused by this entirely. She should be upset that I don’t want a relationship again.   
“You are finally accepting people into your life. What’s changed you? No angry words spouted from our memories.” She asks me this staring into my eyes the entire time.   
I guess I don’t want this job anymore. You’re tired of being alone.   
“I’m just tired of having no one.” that sentence catches me off guard entirely. That’s not what I was going to say.  
“You’re finally talking with your heart instead of that big head of yours.” as soon as she’s done signing this there’s a knock at the door. Neo instinctively reached for her weapon but I pushed it down. I whisper in her ear.  
“My aura isn’t spiking, we're fine just stay in the kitchen.” she nods and hides beside the fridge. I use the peephole to look out and see silver eyes.   
“Hello? Anyone in there? Man I thought this was the room for him but maybe-” as she steps back, I see that it’s Ruby at my door. How does she know where I live? I open up the door to at least say hi but I’m blown away by how fast she’s speaking. “Hey, I think you’re really cool. I like your style, wanna hang out with me and my team?” She said out of breath, jamming her words together. After a second to process what she said I tried to tell her I’m busy.  
“Uh I have work and a gu-”  
“Well maybe once you’re done with work. By the way my name's Ruby, we’re staying at this lodge across the campus here's our room number come by before sundown, thanks bye!” and as fast as she spoke, wrote out the number, and handed it to me, she disappeared with rose petals following her trail. Neo comes out of the kitchen and signs to me.   
“Her speed semblance fits her personality don’t you think?”  
“She definitely takes things the fast approach. Ruby seemed nervous, don't you think?”  
“She just asked a Six foot something, very fit, dark brooding, and attractive man to hang out with her. Also she’s like nineteen so that’s probably the first ‘date’ she’s thought about.”  
“Not everything has a romantic reason to it Neo. Plus I’m too mature in the first place.”  
“D I know you have no idea when your birthday is but you’re at most twenty years old.” I start to get annoyed, it’s not about the age.  
“I’ve spent five years of my life training to be an assassin, three on becoming a bounty hunter, and a little over six being a bounty hunter that is one of the most infamous killers in all of Remnant. That really fits with a teenage girl that likes cookies and probably still laughs at dog pictures on her scroll.”  
“Says the guy that has two cats and calls them his babies” Neo as always tries to change the subject when she’s losing an argument. We spend some time alone cleaning up the kitchen but don’t speak with each other. 

When I start to roll my bedroll back up she kneels in front of me and starts to sign.   
“You should go and hang out with them. You might find crucial info out.” I don’t reply to her and keep at what I’m doing. “What are you afraid you’ll start to like the silver eyed girl?”   
“Your leggings and underwear have a hole in them.” she immediately crosses her legs and starts blushing. She walks to the bathroom to check her clothing. Neo didn’t actually have any holes in her garments but I wanted to be left alone for a bit.   
I dodge a wadded up roll of tissues thrown at the back of my head and turn around to her. Her hands are moving faster from her anger.   
“There was no hole you dick, you didn’t even look up my skirt.” I simply smile at her and return to my bedroll. She sits back down in front of me and lets her shoulders droop. “It’s not like you haven’t seen me like that before.”  
“WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT VACUO!” I yell it at her.  
“Hey you let me sleep in your room after I had one too many. You should have told me I wasn’t allowed to get in bed with you. She’s grinning from ear to ear as she recalls those memories. She starts to push into me.  
“Neo you are basically sitting in my lap. Please get off.” I say this with gritted teeth and my hands in the air.  
“Maybe you could tell me about the parts I don’t remember as well.” After she signs this she bites her lip and starts to put her arms together.  
“I’ll go and hangout with Ruby now get off me goddammit” I can feel her breath on my face and I hate the heat from how close she is to me. She stands up and smiles sweetly after I say this.   
“Thanks! Tell me the details after. I can always count on certain interrogation techniques.” she winks to me after she puts her hands down.  
“Reverse the situatuion and it’s rape but yeah no with a guy it’s just seduction.” I say this loud enough for her to hear.  
“If you like it it’s not-” I hit her in the face with my bedroll and start gathering my mobile possessions to leave.  
“Stay out of trouble, don’t drink my tea, and when I come back here you better be clothed!” I slam the door and head out.


	5. Chapter 5

The idea that I’m going to be essentially going to socialize with my targets is absolutely ludicrous, but I’m not entirely sure that team RWBY are as bad as they seem. Maybe Neo has a point. She’s an extremely bright girl, if only the world were a little more forgiving and not so cruel she’d be in an entirely different life right now. You still care about her even if you deny it. “Being a bit more of a pain in the ass today huh?” the citizens I pass by are confused at what I’m saying, of course. I mean I am talking to myself in public. You aren’t talking to yourself technically speaking. “Not even going to try and unravel that cryptic thought.” After letting my mind wander I find myself outside RWBY’s room. I’m a little late as the sun has already set but I don’t think they’ll mind. I reach my hand out to knock on the door but it swings open before I can make contact.  
“You actually came! I was so worried you weren’t going to show up and that I weirded you out!” the team leader shoots towards me offering her hand, “I’m Ruby Rose! Wait I told you that already.”  
Ruby finally slows down long enough for me to speak “Hi Ruby.” I chuckle after saying this. “I’m Dalton by the way. I hope I’m not too late and I sincerely apologise for being late in the first place.”   
“It’s okay Dalton I was just getting a little worried.” she anxiously giggled after saying this. “You should come in though! I’m sorry I should have offered you in sooner.” I stepped into the apartment they were staying at. It had white walls with brown wood beams that were both aesthetically pleasing and helped form the foundation. Little murals, paintings, and knick knacks were scattered around to make the place feel like a home away from home. I noticed the rest of team RWBY and the remnants of team JNR in the kitchen with Qrow and a small boy I noticed walking with them from earlier. The first person to notice me from the kitchen was Blake but the first person to acknowledge me other than Ruby was Qrow.   
“If it isn’t our bounty hunter friend! Finally decided to show up huh?” I could smell the ale off his breath from here.   
“Sorry I got caught up writing. I planned on being here on time but unfortunately as you can tell that didn’t happen.” I chuckled a little afterwards and I could see Qrows demeanor change.   
“Well at least you did show up, we could all use some friends at a time like this.” I know he was talking about the attack on the academy and the death of professor Lionheart.   
“My condolences about what happened. I’m glad you all were here to help ward off the attack though. We don’t need another tragedy like Beacon.” after I say this everyone seems to tense up. The remembrance of what had happened freshened in their minds. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” I let those somber words linger for a minute in the air and take everyone’s reactions in. They are all ... grief-stricken. Why would the people that were behind the Beacon attack and quite possibly this most recent attack so somber? Why did they even stop the attack fully? Maybe it was a distraction to have Lionheart killed but as of now I have no clue.   
“We’ll make sure no one else gets hurt like the attack on Beacon academy, ever again.” I hear Ruby speak this confidently behind me. On queue the rest of the group seems to brighten up and embrace that idea.   
“Spoken like a true team leader Ruby, couldn’t have said it any better myself.” Qrow even in his drunken state manages to compliment her.   
“Thanks uncle Qrow! Dalton would you like to sit down? We’ll be eating dinner soon.” Ruby’s attention puts me back in the spotlight.  
“I’d love to thank you, it smells like it’s coming along deliciously.” I say as I took a seat at one end of the floor tables. I sit on my knees in case I need to stand up quickly.   
“You have a very strong sense of smell, I can barely smell my own perfume with the amount of body spray Yang and Nora uses.” Weiss chuckles after finishing her statement. I’d take the Schnees to be more prude and prideful but she seems to have her guard down around her team.   
“He’s a bounty hunter Ice Queen, of course he has a good sense of smell. His sense’s are probably stronger than everyone that’s in this room combined.” I hate how he constantly brings this up.   
“Only because you’re drunk senses are dragging us down!” I hear Yang yell out from the kitchen.  
“I still kick your butt in kung fu fighter 2 for a drunken mess! And I’ll do it again!” Qrow yells back drunkenly. I see the small boy in the kitchen tick and then he walks over to me.   
“Hello my name is-” I cut him off before he can finish. The boy has two souls, one that’s familiar at well.  
“Ozpin. I can feel two souls inside of you?” the room grows quiet as everyone stares at me.   
“May I ask how you know this Dalton?”  
“I just told you, I can feel two souls melded together.” they’re growing suspicious of me. “You really don’t remember me Professor Ozpin?”  
“I’m afraid I do not.” of course he wouldn’t remember me. We only met for a minute years ago.   
“I was one of the students you attempted to take in from the Lupoz clan. Before the massacre.” With this being said I can see the gears working in his head as he remembers me.   
“That would explain why you aren’t confused about the mixing of mine and Oscar's souls. You were the sneaky boy hiding in the masters raftors whilst me and Jameson talked. You can sense aura better than the few that have had the privilege to unlock that skill” Ozpin had trusted this man when I was younger with the fact that he reincarnated after death. Unknowingly he also shared it with me until I was noticed.   
“That was me sir.” Everyone seems a little more relieved now. Ozpin then speaks again but to everyone else instead.   
“Would you like to clue him in then? Or do you believe he is untrustworthy.” I’m caught off guard with this. What do they want to tell me?  
“I’m a little confused. Is there a reason you’re all being cryptic?” After I say this the blonde haired boy speaks up.   
“We haven’t exactly had the most trustworthy of allies before so excuse us for being skeptical.”  
“Jaune you could at least introduce us to him before we talk about this any further.” I already knew who everyone was, of course, but because of what Nora said Jaune took time to point everyone out.   
“I’m Jaune Arc, this is Nora Valkyrie, he’s Lie Ren, this is Oscar and Ozpin as previously stated, you’ve met team RWBY, and we heard about your adventure with Qrow. Your he’s newest ‘legend’” I followed every name he said with ease. I wish we could hurry this up so I’m not out of the loop on what the hell is going on.   
“Well as leader of team RWBY and taking in the team's opinions we’ve decided that Dalton should be let in on the secret. He already knows about Ozpin.” What is this secret that they’re constantly going on about? Are they going to tell me they attacked Beacon?  
“I don’t entirely trust him but seeing as that I’m the only one I don’t think that matters. Team JNR plus Ozpin and Oscar want to tell him, and Qrow this was your idea of course so, why don’t you start it off for us.” I turn to Qrow and see him recline on the couch. He’s getting comfortable to tell the story but my aura ticks and if he puts his leg on the table it’ll break.   
“Qrow don’t put your foot on the table, it'll break.” Everyone stares at me in disbelief whilst Qrow sits with his leg hovering in the air smiling smugly.   
“I told you he had this gift. I don’t know how but he can tell when my semblance will go off.” Juane huffs after this and walks towards him.   
“For the last time Qrow no one can just sense others' semblance like that.” Jaune took out his scroll and started to lower it to the table. “You need to stop drinking. You’re getting all this del-” and as Jaune set the scroll on the wooden coffee table, the legs underneath snapped   
giving way to only one pound of extra weight.   
“I. Told. You.” Qrow seems more than happy with the outcome whilst I hear the others in the room whisper about my ‘gift’. “Alright ki- Dalton, sit down because this is going to be a long story.”  
“I’ll get the ramen! Blake can you help me with setting the bowls?” I watched as the dragon walked towards the kitchen and the cat followed. They make an odd pair.  
“Alrighty so Dalton, do you believe in magic?”

“You’re telling me that Salem is millions of years old and was behind the attack on beacon?” I say plainly. In all honesty this is a lot to take in. Team RWBY wasn’t behind the attack at least to my knowledge as of now, magic is real, there used to be two gods, and Salem wants to kill the world. Shit’s really confusing.  
“Well in short yeah, You’re taking this rather well compared to most people. You following me kid?” He’s in disbelief that I’m so calm.  
“I’ve been through worse Qrow.” It’s not entirely true but I haven’t personally dealt with the end of the world. What in the hell did I get myself caught up with? 

After another hour of speaking about Salem and the legends of the world I decided to excuse myself to go home. Although this is all absolutely crazy and makes zero sense, I believe every word that came from them. I have one massive question that's still bothering me though. What do they want from me? They wouldn’t bring me into this fold just to hear the information. Are they going to ask me to join them in this war against Salem? And to follow up would I actually help them? Of course you’d help them. You have the skill for it. “I’m talking about if I’d reject their offer. You’re in my head you should have known that.” We both know the answer. You always help people in need. “Don’t get onto me about how I’m this great person.” All of a sudden from the alleyway I hear a voice.   
“You’re right. You aren’t a good person.” The second I hear the voice my Aura spikes and my sword wills it’s way into my hands. ‘Bang Bang!’ Two rounds pierce the darkness towards me and I deflect them away. I will my aura armor on to me and use my mask to see into the darkness. A tall slim man with grey hair stands in the dark near a dark skinned female with green hair. My mask let’s me know that the man has robotic legs. They seem dangerous but they’re hiding their aura as best as they can.   
Through my masks’ voice distorter I speak to them. “I can see you two. Come out with your hands up now.” I can see the girl shiver from my voice but they listen and start to walk towards me with their hands up. I notice something as they’re a couple meters from me. Their footsteps aren’t kicking up dust. They can’t see my face from my mask but I realize that one of them is playing with my head. I bring up my thermal radar and see that there’s two dots less than five feet from me. One on my left and right. My aura spikes and I jump turning sideways dodging the sweep from the boy looking for my legs and the slash from the girl going for my throat. I use my legs to push off the girl and roll away. As I stand up I will my pistol into my other hand and take my stance.   
“Salem was right. You are dangerous!” the boy laughs out loud. “He saw right through your illusion Emerald.” The teen speaks aloud towards the girl, Emerald.  
“Mercury stop dicking around. We have a job.” Emerald’s annoyed with her partner in crime attacking me. I set my distorter to take the form of a more grimm like voice.   
“What do you two want?!” my voice cuts through the air. My readings pick up that their heartbeats speed up from 80 BPM to about 105 BPM. They’re still relatively calm. Let’s change that. I load my pistol with a few fire dust rounds. 105 BPM to 120 BPM. They see me as a threat now.   
“Salem asked you to do a job. You haven’t exactly delivered on it.” Emerald points her two revolvers out at me. Shaky hands make for a horrible shot.   
“It doesn’t seem like you plan to finish it either, Zero.” Mercury is definitely more outwardly calm than Emerald but he’s still nervous.   
“I do not plan to take out the bounty on team RWBY’s heads. Will that be a problem?” My demeanor unnerves them. They’ve fought other Aura wielders before but no one like me.  
“Well then we’ll have to collect on yours.” After saying this Mercury dashes towards me. Instead of slashing in front of me I parry to my right and feel the metal boot bounce off my sword. ‘Zip’ My shot connects to my left and hit’s Emerald. A body shot that Immediately breaks her aura. Her illusions can be powerful but they eat away from her reserves apparently.   
“AAAAHHH!” Taking my attention back to my right I dodged the blast/kick from Mercury’s lag and heated up my sword. ‘Chunk’ I feel my sword slice completely through his left leg. I dissolve my pistol and use my left hand to grab his other leg and throw him towards Emerald connecting and knocking them both down. “He cut off my fucking leg! The bastard went right through my aura. You know what that’s going to co-” Mercury stops with his triad when I pushed my sword against his throat ever so slightly. He looks at my other hand and notices that I have my sidearm pushed against the back of Emerald’s head. I dissolve my mask away so they understand me clearly. Both of their heart beats exceeding well over 180 BPM.   
“You will leave me and team RWBY alone, or next time I won’t even indulge your fantasy of an encounter and kill you right off the start as I originally planned.” The realization that they had no chance whatsoever hits them. “If you’re afraid that your boss will kill you remember what I said I’d do.” I can see the fear of failing Salem keeps them from fully listening to me. “There’s a town not too far off Argus that you can hide from her at. It’s name is Stardew. Become farmhands there and make something new.” Finishing with that I dissolve all of my weapons/armor and get off of them. I start walking towards ‘home’ when the girl yells at me from behind.  
“She’ll find us even if we hide. We have to go back to her.” I stop and walk back towards them. They both tense up as I approach.  
“You’re both kids that have done horrible things.” I stop myself from making my decision to finish things. “I’m giving you an out. Do not tell anyone where you are going. Take nothing electronic, use completely made up names, don’t say goodbye to any friends or family.” They’re listening but uncertain. I know what they need. Thankfully we have a fix to their problem a few feet away. “Pick your friend up and follow me.”  
“You cut off his leg!” Emerald yells at me.  
“It was robotic and I could have killed you. Do not yell at me again.” The calmness I keep whilst saying this to them sets in a tone. One that makes them fear everything I do. Everything I’ll ever say, they will fear but hear. I stop by the ATM and enter my credentials. I pull out a chunk from my emergency funds. A golden Lien card with the number 1,000,000 printed across it dispenses. “Take this. Go to that town. Never show your faces again.” Mercury takes the card from me as I handed it towards them. Before I leave them to finally get back to the apartment I leave them with final words. “If you steal, kill, or hurt anyone else with this second chance I’m giving you… I’ll hunt you down and take it back.” I felt the fear roll off of them after saying this. They’ll listen or they’ll die.


End file.
